One Turkish officer was killed in what a source in the country's security services said was a terror attack committed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the eastern Bitlis province, local media reported on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2019) One Turkish officer was killed in what a source in the country's security services said was a terror attack committed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the eastern Bitlis province, local media reported on Friday.Gendarmerie commander Zafer Akkus sustained heavy injuries and later died while being treated at a hospital after the PKK attacked a civilian vehicle in the Caliduzu village in eastern Bitlis, the Anadolu news agency informed, citing an anonymous source in the country's security forces.
The PKK is officially listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey. The Turkish government has been fighting the PKK, which seeks to establish a Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, since the early 1980s. The PKK and Ankara agreed on a ceasefire in 2013, but it collapsed just two years later after several terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK militants.
Turkish security forces carry out regular anti-PKK raids across the country. In late May, Ankara launched Operation Claw targeting PKK militants in northern Iraq.
